Advocacy

Speak up NOW! Protect Services for Older Adults!

The current administration’s proposed budget will tear Older Americans Act (OAA) programs apart and send them to two different agencies – the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the newly created Administration for Children and Families (ACF). The budget also calls for zeroing out several key aging programs.

It’s important to remember: the president’s budget is a proposal only. Congress must agree to implement the president’s budget through their appropriations process, which is just getting started.

Click here to access our advocacy toolkit (including a sample message) and contact your congressional representatives today! Contact information for congressional representatives in COA’s service area can be found below or in our advocacy toolkit.

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What We Know Today

Budget Proposal Impact on Funding and Programs for Older Adults

• The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is slated for elimination in the budget, with the Trump Administration claiming it is rife with fraud and abuse.
• The Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) has also been slated for elimination, with the claim that “these grants [to Community Action Agencies] are laden with equity-building and green energy initiatives.”
• The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) is also proposed for elimination, asserting that “CDBG is poorly targeted, and the program has been used for a variety of projects that the Federal Government should not be funding.”
• Title IIID of the Older Americans Act which promotes health and well-being of older adults through evidence-based health and wellness programs, like Chronic Disease Self-Management and peer-based/led activity and exercise programs, is slated for elimination.
• Section 202 Housing for the Elderly has been merged into a block grant with other targeted housing programs. The budget states: “The Budget empowers States by transforming the current Federal dysfunctional rental assistance programs into a State-based formula grant which would allow States to design their own rental assistance programs based on their unique needs and preferences. The Budget would also newly institute a two-year cap on rental assistance for able bodied adults, and would ensure a majority of rental assistance funding through States would go to the elderly and disabled.”
• The Corporation for National and Community Service, which operates the Americorps Seniors programs, is slated for elimination in the President’s budget.
• OAA Title V Senior Community Services Employment Program is slated for elimination, with the Administration claiming, “seniors would be better served by programs operated by State and local governments, with proven track records of increasing wages.”
• Proposed changes to the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP): “To further improve the health of seniors consistent with the President’s MAHA [Make America Healthy Again] initiative, the Budget ends CSFP (which has been misused for DEI and logrolling) and replaces it with MAHA food boxes. The MAHA food boxes remove administrative middlemen to provide higher-quality food directly to seniors. Unlike the current approach using food banks, which provide those in need with shelf-stable foods that are high in sodium and other harmful ingredients, MAHA boxes would be filled with commodities sourced from domestic farmers and given directly to American households. This approach of boxing commodities was highly successful at the end of the first Trump administration as a COVID pandemic response.”

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Contact Members of Congress Today!

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United States Senator Jon Husted
United States Senate
Contact Senator Husted
Visit Senator Husted’s Website
Call: (202) 224-3353

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About Advocacy at Council on Aging

COA advocates for policies and programs that will help us achieve our mission to help adults remain independent in their own homes. We also want to serve as a resource for people who are looking for information or resources concerning issues of importance to older adults and caregivers in Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Hamilton and Warren counties.

Learn about important issues
COA focuses its advocacy on issues being addressed by the Ohio Association of Area Agencies on Aging. In addition, there are a wide variety of national issues of interest to older adults: health care reform, the future of Social Security, support for grandparents raising grandchildren, and more.

How you can get involved
There are several ways you may help advocate for our older adult population:

1. Contacting elected officials about issues that are important to you or older adults – One of the simplest and most effective ways to make a difference. Write a letter, send an email or make a phone call.
2. Be an advocate for older adults in your community – Volunteer to help during Elderly Services Levy campaigns, attend town hall meetings hosted by policy makers and elected officials, or write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper.

If you are interested in helping in one of these ways, contact COA Government Relations Manager Nan Cahall.

Find out who represents you

State Officials

• (800) 282-0253 – Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
• Search for your representative

Ohio Elected Officials

• Search for your district’s state representative
• Search for your senator

US Elected Officials

• Find your representative
• Find your senator